BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Ashley Christie (Miamisburg, Ohio/Archbishop Alter) scored a career-high 19 points to lead Mount St. Mary's past St. Francis (N.Y.) 79-39 in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's basketball action on Saturday.

Christie connected on 7 of 11 shots from the floor and went 5-for-8 from 3-point land to finish with her career-high 19 points. The freshman hit 7 of her first 8 shots on the afternoon, including 5 of 6 from behind the arc. Christie keyed a 26-0 run with eight points to help the Mount (4-12, 1-4 NEC) take the lead it would not relinquish.

Fellow freshman Kayla Grossett (Toronto, Ontario/David and Mary Thompson C.I.) also had a career with 16 points along with six rebounds. The freshman had seven points during the Mountaineers' huge run in the first half. Rachel Mathews (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) added a career-high nine points and five rebounds off the bench.

Autumn Lau posted 21 of the Terriers (2-13, 0-5 NEC) 39 points in the loss.

Mount St. Mary's used a huge run in the first half to take the lead and never looked back for its fifth-straight win against St. Francis (N.Y.) and its 41st victory in 43 tries.

After the Terriers took a 4-2 lead on a Kim Snauwaert basket at 17:20, the Mount rolled off the next 26 points to grab a 29-4 lead.

Grossett started the spurt and gave the Mountaineers the lead for good on a traditional 3-point play at 16:49. After Tara Lonergan (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) scored in the paint at 16:21, Grossett and Selina Mann (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) hit consecutive jumpers at 15:57 and 14:54, respectively, for a 12-4 edge. Mary Dunn (Whippany, N.J./Morris Catholic), Mathews and Grossett then did some damage inside with layups at 14:42, 12:25 and 11:42. Grossett's converted a free throw after her basket at 11:42 to complete a 3-point play and extend the lead to 19-4. Christie then hit back-to-back treys before Leah Westbrooks (Dublin, Ireland/Holy Faith Secondary) and Christie capped the run with layups for a 29-4 advantage with 8:16 left in the first half.

Mount St. Mary's started the game by connecting on 12 of its first 17 shot attempts. During its 26-0 run, the squad made its first nine shots and 11 of its 14 shot. The Mount freshman registered 19 of the 26 points in the surge before Jasmin Robinson halted the 26-straight points by Mount St. Mary's with a layup at 7:44.

The Mountaineers continued its success and went into the locker room with a 38-15 advantage. Mount St. Mary's stayed hot in the second half and outscored St. Francis (N.Y.) 41-24 to go on for its first conference win of the season.

Lonergan finished the game with eight points while Jessie Kaufman (Damascus, Md./Damascus) had eight points off the bench. Mann posted four points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Mathews played in a game for the first time since against UMES on Nov. 20 while Westbrooks saw her first action since playing at Cincinnati on Nov. 23. The senior finished the afternoon with two points and two rebounds in six minutes.

Dunn moved into 24 place in program history with 1,010 career points.

It marked the first time the Mountaineers won a game by 30 points since downing Robert Morris 90-57 on Feb. 23, 2004. The squad held a team under 50 points for the first time this season and under 40 points for the first time since its last trip to the Pope P.E. Center last season with a 61-33 victory on Jan. 21, 2010.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Monday at Long Island. Game time is 2 p.m.